Is a 12 mile (24 round trip) commute too much?
Discussion
You will save loads of petrol money, no need to go to the gym anymore and will feel more awake when you get there. Consider putting on semi slicks or perhaps buy a road bike as well on the cycle to work scheme which has some great incentives,
Just ordered me a specialized crosstrail on this scheme and saved me over £250
Martyn....
Just ordered me a specialized crosstrail on this scheme and saved me over £250
Martyn....
mine is 26-27miles each way and it's no problem once you get used to it.
3-4 times a week I tend to aim for, start doing it around early March (end Feb this year) at twice a week then build up to 4 times a week.
You can do 5 but I like to have 1-2 weekdays to do other things plus need to fit in running/gym.
3-4 times a week I tend to aim for, start doing it around early March (end Feb this year) at twice a week then build up to 4 times a week.
You can do 5 but I like to have 1-2 weekdays to do other things plus need to fit in running/gym.
dubbs said:
mine is 26-27miles each way and it's no problem once you get used to it.
3-4 times a week I tend to aim for, start doing it around early March (end Feb this year) at twice a week then build up to 4 times a week.
You can do 5 but I like to have 1-2 weekdays to do other things plus need to fit in running/gym.
Ditto.3-4 times a week I tend to aim for, start doing it around early March (end Feb this year) at twice a week then build up to 4 times a week.
You can do 5 but I like to have 1-2 weekdays to do other things plus need to fit in running/gym.
I try and ride in on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday with a decent ride on Saturday as well.
I started last year driving in with bike then riding home, riding in next day driving home etc etc.
If you have locker space at work I'd recommend taking all your clothes in in a oner and keeping your on bike load to a minimum.
I'd love to live 12-15 miles from work!!
Same distance as my commute.
My route is about 75% Tarmac, 25% off road. I do it on a nice XC hardtail with some low knob tyres. I could do it with thin slick but then the off-road bits wouldnt be as fun.
Few decent gradients, takes me 50 minutes, PB is 46. Thats a pretty good average.
I would say - I'm a pretty epxerience/strong cyclist - and 5 days a week is possible (ive done it) but thats a few chunk of miles, you'll feel it.
dont plan on 5 days from the off - start with 2 or 3 - Monday Weds Friday would be nice.
Also bear in mind that if your doing 120 miles a week your bike will need regular tlc.
My route is about 75% Tarmac, 25% off road. I do it on a nice XC hardtail with some low knob tyres. I could do it with thin slick but then the off-road bits wouldnt be as fun.
Few decent gradients, takes me 50 minutes, PB is 46. Thats a pretty good average.
I would say - I'm a pretty epxerience/strong cyclist - and 5 days a week is possible (ive done it) but thats a few chunk of miles, you'll feel it.
dont plan on 5 days from the off - start with 2 or 3 - Monday Weds Friday would be nice.
Also bear in mind that if your doing 120 miles a week your bike will need regular tlc.
That is my distance aswell, all road (although the state of some of the roads, it might aswell be off-road) average time 48mins. If you plan to cycle everyday, you will feel it, just remember to save your legs, don't go trying to break any pb's on a Monday as you still have 4 more days to cycle. I've been doing this for about 6 years now & have been knocked once. Best advice is 'don't be in a hurry' & you will be fine.
97BlackC5 said:
That is my distance aswell, all road (although the state of some of the roads, it might aswell be off-road) average time 48mins. If you plan to cycle everyday, you will feel it, just remember to save your legs, don't go trying to break any pb's on a Monday as you still have 4 more days to cycle. I've been doing this for about 6 years now & have been knocked once. Best advice is 'don't be in a hurry' & you will be fine.
What's a PB? I got a Rockhopper from Ride2Work and that's all paid off so I could probably wangle a road bike in there as well 
I won't be doing that anytime soon!Possibly hard work at first, but it'd be quite easy once you got into it, particularly with the right bike.
I'm a complete slob with a significant beer belly and a fairly heavy MTB-style hybird, yet I'm still just getting warmed up when my hilly 7.5 mile commute ends (takes about 25 minutes). Okay, it's not 12 miles, but I mention it because it proves you don't have to be a Lycra-clad stick insect straddling something made of carbon fibre and sipping on a protein shake!
I'm a complete slob with a significant beer belly and a fairly heavy MTB-style hybird, yet I'm still just getting warmed up when my hilly 7.5 mile commute ends (takes about 25 minutes). Okay, it's not 12 miles, but I mention it because it proves you don't have to be a Lycra-clad stick insect straddling something made of carbon fibre and sipping on a protein shake!
I found my 8 miles took well under 30 mins, so not really challenging from a fitness perspective. Sometimes I did a detour via a nicer route that extended it to 10, 12 or 16 miles, I'd say anything around 45mins to an 1hr would be a perfect time/distance for fitness and not too far.
So I think you've got an ideal distance but the route could be tricky on a bike (ie. dual carriageways etc.). As others have said build up to it and certainly don't feel pressurized to do 5 out of 5.
Guys who used to do longer commutes than me used to drive in on Monday drop all their office stuff off for the week and then cycle Tues - Fri.
So I think you've got an ideal distance but the route could be tricky on a bike (ie. dual carriageways etc.). As others have said build up to it and certainly don't feel pressurized to do 5 out of 5.
Guys who used to do longer commutes than me used to drive in on Monday drop all their office stuff off for the week and then cycle Tues - Fri.
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